A multi-function patient support apparatus such as the overbed table and transport chair of the present invention has the potential to solve myriad problems associated with space restrictions in most hospital, rehabilitation and convalescence centers and also the high cost of fully stocking a facility with the proper patient support equipment for each individual room. The inventor has previously addressed these issues with prior embodiments of the present invention including an embodiment entitled APPARATUS COMBINING OVERBED TABLE, IV STAND, WALKER AND SEAT, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,105, filed Aug. 26, 1994 and the above reference embodiment for a CONVERTIBLE MULTIFUNCTION OVERBED TABLE AND CHAIR. The inventor recognized the benefits of the prior embodiments; however, he also acknowledges certain limitations with the most recent embodiment that substantially affect utility and also a potential the patient safety issue. The most significant limitation is the unnecessarily cumbersome rotational track mechanism when changing the configuration between the overbed table and the seat function. However, the most significant issue is the potential for a patient to become trapped or pinned under the overbed table in the event the patient bed is raised beyond the set height of the overbed table.
What is needed is an improved overbed table and transport chair which will allows for simple configuration changes between the overbed table function and transport chair and the overbed table to provide relief in the event that a patient bed is inadvertently raised above the set height of the overbed table.